The Legacy of the Firemind
by ThePragmaticManic
Summary: After a mission goes wrong, Mir goes back to Ravnica to assess a new plan and report to his guild. But what he finds out upon returning drives him to the edge of his mind. When he receives a mysterious message, he sets out all over the Multiverse to try and fix what has happened to his home world, even if it meant facing the one person he never thought would betray his trust.
1. Prologue - The Sands of the Dragon

Author's Note: this story doesn't concern itself with the current timeline of the game, nor does it interfere with any of the current Planeswalkers. It would though include most of the Planes.

* * *

Prologue

Xierxe found himself in a very strange condition that morning. He woke up in chains, and he had a blindfold on. He tried to remember what happened the night before, but he couldn't remember anything. He tried remembering what happened the night before that, and the one before, and the one before, but his memory was too blurry for him to come to anything.

Finding that his memory would serve no use, he tried to collect information on his surroundings instead. He was sitting down on cement, his back against a wooden column. He was wearing a silk tunic under a leather vest, with simple cotton pants for leggings. He took note that he was not wearing any shoes, which he found peculiar (not as so as being tied to a pillar). Confirming that he at least had some sort of protection, he put his attention next to the things that he might be able to hear and smell. He heard faint sounds of breathing or sighing, almost like he was being watched by an audience; and he picked up the smell of petrichor, mud, and bread. But not just any bread: newly baked ones, such that their aroma was carried by the smoke produced by their heat. He could only be in one place: he was somewhere in the main city, on the road, tied to a column of wood. And he remembered something very important that moment: in the city of Ravnica, there is only one place where such conditions can exist: the Executioner's Pillar, a few blocks from the church of the Orzhov syndicate.

"Would it be of any use to ask why I'm here?" Xierxe shouted, half-hoping that no one was there to here him.

He waited for a response.

"Hello?" He asked again, and again, each time louder and louder, until he shouted the word. That moment he heard his voice echo. He also noticed that the sell of baked bread disappear, along with the smell of rain and mud and dirt. Everything's seem to gone silent.

I must be dead, he thought to himself. He thought about his current situation, how he would die chained to a wooden pillar, and how he' die without even knowing why he was there in the first place. And then it struck him. It was true, he couldn't remember why he was there, or what he did the day before, or the day after that, ore really, _any_ day at all; he didn't just lose his memory of the previous days, he's lost memory of everything completely: his past, his family, and more importantly, who he was.

* * *

I am a Planeswalker, one of the special few who can look beyond the horizon of his home plane and gaze upon the Blind Eternities, and to be able to use it to travel to the other Planes of Existence.

I was currently in Tarkir, the land filled with dragons and dragon-warriors. I was sent by Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, to scout the plane and the activities of all the dragon-clans. The Izzet is ruled by the dracogenius, and only the ones who rise up through the ranks and commune with Niv-Mizzet through a special link called the Firemind; and it so happens, that I have it.

The deserts of the Dromoka clan are most certainly, and would often seem lifeless if you don't know where to look. At some point in the wide sands, a fortress stands, grand in its scope, and more larger and stronger-fortified than the Akros fortress in Theros. The dragonlord isn't always with his clan, kind of like the Firemind's absence in the guild headquarters. There wasn't much cover for me to hide in, so the only way of scouting the fortress was to observe it from a distance, with a little sorcery to help me remain invisible.

Desert scouts walked in and out of the citadel, some going as far as to where I was (fortunately they could not see me) and some just went around and around the perimeter of the fortress. I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for: he gave me orders to watch the Dromoka fortress, but he didn't specifically tell me what to look out for. So I spent minutes maybe hours just staring into the white-washed walls of the citadel, in the middle of the blazing sun.

You might be thinking: why would I cast Invisibility and be so far away from the citadel? Precaution. Though the clan is known for its resilience and high-rate of surviving, it still has a way with spells. It is true that most of them are focused on battle enhancement and defense, but some of them can dispel other spells or disrupt channeling abilities, for example, invisibility.

I sensed a barrier that stretched out 100 meters from the main wall, alerting the guards of any intruder that comes within, and beyond that a series of underground traps. It shouldn't be too long before I can create a telepathic map of the ground and make a safe path from where I am to as close as the barrier is, but beyond that, I can only hope that I've cast enough layers of magic to hide myself from their sentry.

It took me about 30 minutes, but I was able to do it. There was about 100 hidden explosive mines, armed spikes, and some hidden sandpits here and there. Whoever made the traps were smart, at least for me, since any Dromokan does not trigger the trap, but anything or anyone that is threatening enough will trigger them: that's why the scouts could walk straight across the desert without triggering any of them.

Following my own secret pathway, I made it to a spot to the east of the great fortress. I was kneeling on a depression along a series of dunes, so that even if I wasn't invisible, I could still hide behind the slopes if I crouched or laid down. From there I could see the clan's banner, at the highest point of the citadel, from what seems to be some sort of temple or altar.

I could not go any further, since I wasn't battle ready and since I might trigger the inner alarms thanks to the barrier. I was stuck. Of course, I could have gone back to HQ, or make a report to the Firemind then, but what should have I said? That, 'All seems to be fine, guild master. They are doing their daily activities as usual.'? I don't think so. He never does something just for what it seems. He sent me here for a reason, and I had to find out what it is.

Let's see... the Dromoka clan is focused on endurance, honor, and family. Their ranks form a 4-tier hierarchy, from the scalelords to the Foremost. Their spells focus on survival magic, hardening their armors and sharpening their weapons, and forbidden magic, which was outlawed by the dragonlord. What would interest Niv-Mizzet here? Maybe it was their structures, or the clan's architecture.

I looked closer. Using a deeper sorcery, I enhanced my sight with three times it's normal vision, allowing me to see closer to the fortress. The banner, the dragon scale banner, wasn't on an altar nor temple, but was one of four on each side of an inverted pyramid: an aerie. It's top was open to the sky to let dragons enter, and its bottom was where, I guess, troops go in and out. Also, on closer inspection, I found that what I thought were spikes along the fortified wall were actually soldiers, scaleguards they were called, holding their scale-shaped shields in one hand, and their sharpened spears with the other. Now that I was nearer, I was able to comprehend the largeness of the desert fortress. It spanned about 1,000 meters in area, with the walls about half as high. If I tried to scale that, I would be dead before I reached the top. I tried looking even closer and that's when I messed up.

I didn't notice that I had passed through the barrier, immediately sending a mana wave to the wizards inside. I counted, and it took about three seconds before the nearest guards were alerted to my presence. One thing distance and the heat does to your eyes: it makes you miscount how many soldiers were out to kill you: and in this case, I counted less, which was far from reality.

I tried to outrun them, but I wasn't built nor trained for running on the sand, and the scouts were more fit to fight in the desert. So geographically speaking, I was at a lethal disadvantage. Not only that, but the archers atop the wall had started shooting arrows. I thought that the sun in their eyes would at least blur their accuracy to my favor, but I was wrong. If I wasn't moving at all, I would have been hit right at the middle of eyes. Turns out the barrier dispels any form of unknown wizardry, so if any spell were cast that weren't Dromokan, it would be countered (unless the spell was crafted in such a way that it could not be countered), There was only one thing left for me to do: run out of the barrier's scope and cast Invisibility again. So I did.

The spell requires a significant amount of blue mana. But since I was in the middle of the desert, blue mana was scarce, and I was not able to wield white mana efficiently enough to cast some sort of protection, but I was able to do it. Once I did, the guards stopped chasing and the arrows stopped coming down, and I thought I was free to go. Planeswalk back to Ravnica. I was wrong.

See, Planeswalking requires two things: a substantial amount of mana, and some time to channel. Channeling would dispel all active buffs, so any attempt to Planeswalk would dispel Invisibility. That's good if I was a good deal of distance away from the fortress, but again, I was not able to. In my desperate attempt to outrun the guards and the arrows, I forgot about the path I made that avoids the hidden traps. Thankfully I didn't trigger a spike or a hidden scorpion, but I did fall inside a pit, about 10 meters below the ground.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before they noticed that a trap has been triggered, and not long scaleguards have appeared near the hole. I was close, actually, to teleporting to the Blind Eternities, when they called in a mage, and canceled the channel. At that point I was both tired and drained, then the guards descended down the pit and escorted me back to the fortress in very heavy chains.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Firemind Burns

**CHAPTER I:**

 **The Firemind Burns**

Dragons, are frightening. I don't mean it in the sense that they can kill you on sight, with fires so hot you won't even feel it, and claws so sharp they can slice through steel like it's made of cheese. It's the complete and utter loss of hope. A dragon's skin is the hardest thing there is. No weapon can pierce it, no spell can break it. The only way to beat a dragon is through brute force, and it has been a thousand years since anyone has been able to do that. And most unfortunately, I'm facing one right now.

'Well, well, what do we have here?' Asked a man in shining, green robes. He was standing on a platform, in front of a huge window, so the light that came in shone on the gems embedded in his robe and reflected greatly like mirrors. The dais was above a hundred (or so I've counted) steps, so it felt like I was in the presence of a king.

I was bound in chains, with two guards beside me. As far as I was concerned, the hall was filled with them. Floors upon floors stacked up from where I was, like an open tower; and with each layer was about a hundred scaleguards, and at the bottom, where the man was, the scalelords resided, and at the farthest corner of the hall, was a Dromokan dragon: huge, fat, and most certainly asleep.

I couldn't think properly, with such a beast in the room. It was different from the presence of the dracogenius, almost like more cardinal, more... primal.

I didn't notice I was staring.

'It won't hurt you, not unless we want it too.' One of the scalelords said, then the other ones chuckled.

"I am no threat to your lands, your highness." I answered, bowing my head as far as I could. I was not about to die in some foreign land.

' "Your highness"?' He bellowed, to the annoyance of my ears. 'I haven't been called your highness in, well, never.' The man started walking down the steps. As he got closer, I could make out details about what he looked like. He had no hair, yet he wasn't old either. He looked like he was in his prime, he had a tall lean build, his robe was indeed embedded with gems, but as they escaped the light of the sun they started to look, less brighter.

'We are busy, do you know that?' he clapped his hands together. The guards tightened their hold on both ends of the chain. 'Here in the fortress, we value our family, hour honor, our dignity. The wars of course, are a threat to that, and so we are preparing for defensive measures. Very defensive measures. We have no time to trial trespassers such as yourself.'

'No, listen to me-'

'So let us do this quickly. We'll just ask you a simple set of questions. Answer honestly, and you may go with your life. If you don't, then, well, it won't matter any more to you now, wouldn't it?

I gazed upon him. His eyes were yellow, which wasn't that unusual, as a many people have eyes of varying colors, but his; his was glowing, and his gaze can pierce through the soul, as if he can know what you'll think before you can think it.

'I am no threat to you or your people or, dragons. I am simply scouting.' I told them. Though now it strikes me, I could have used a better wording, now that I think about it.

'That makes things that much easier.' One of the lords said and grinned, like how a psychopath smiles before he kills his victim. 'We can't have spies inside our perimeters and let them live, most especially with the impending war.'

'Guards, eliminate him.' As he said the order, he turned around, and went out through one of the two doors on either side of the dais. The dragon snored.

At that moment, the guards let go of the chain. But instead of both ends falling to the ground, it hung in the air, as if it was stuck, as if it was frozen. Slowly I felt the chains tightening around me. Little scales started creeping from the ends to the main body. The scalelords started exiting out of the hall one by one, along with the two guards that were by me. Though my torso was wrapped in chains along with my arms, my legs were free.

I stood up, and the guards didn't seem to mind. I started running towards the nearest door. Again, I misjudged the distance. Somehow from where I was it was closer, but once I got up it was actually a few more meters than I expected. By the time I reached the door, all the scalelords have gone out, and it was locked from the outside.

The chains started to get tighter, and I breathing was starting to get rather voluntary. Obviously breaking the bonds was out of the question. I had to think of something else. I tried kicking the door, for some reason, but that made no help. It just made noise. Noise that started to wake up the sleeping dragon.

Five minutes in and I was motionless on the floor. I couldn't move, or more likely, I shouldn't move. I put all my energy and attention only within the space that was my body, redirecting all the mana I had left to try and stop that chains from squeezing me to death.

It was a little funny, actually. An Izzet Walker in his prime, killed by chain. How pathetic.

"Think, damn you." A voice spoke in my head. It was old and ancient, and sounded wise and intelligent. Draconic in its root, fiery in its sound. There is only one being in the whole of the Multiverse that can do this: none other than the dracogenius: the Firemind.

'Think? I've been doing it ever since the chains started pulling the life out of me. I am out of mana, and I am out of time.' I thought back, whispering even. 'The only thing that can possibly have any change is that dra-' My eyes opened wide with surprise. Or maybe that was the chain's doing I'm not sure. 'No-no-no-no-no... no.'

I thought I heard Niv-Mizzet laugh, like a scientist would with an experiment. 'I chose you for a reason, and I hope you know why.' Then, his presence in my mind faded out. Time slowed down after that. Normally, even if the link has been made between the dragon and a member, a test must first be passed before on can communicate with Niv-Mizzet. But in this case, he initiated it. Something was amiss.

But at that time I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to figure out what was going on in the infinitely vast thoughts of my guild leader. The chains weren't stopping, but I was about to. The hall and the floors above it were devoid of furniture, only the stairs and the dais exist between the white walls and the white floor, and the light that shone through the ceiling above and the windows that surrounded the room. Only two things were breathing in that hall: me, and a beastly dragon. And the former was slowly losing his life.

'D-dra-dragon!' I cried, hoping to catch the attention of the beast. I figured I only had about three minutes left of air left, and I had to use it the best I could, if I ever wanted to use it again.

From where I was, I could run to where it was and either kick until it was mad or I bumped my head against its head. If its behavior was like the barrier, then it would react immediately to my presence. I had to try. If I die, I die trying.

Tsk. I thought to myself.

I ran with all the speed and force I could muster, and slammed my body straight into the dragon's hide. And after that, I smiled like it was my last day on Tarkir. Two things happened after I crashed: one, the hard scales broke the chain, I guess that's dragon magic to dragon magic. And two, I woke up the sleeping dragon.

I backed up slowly, then ran to the back of the hall as est I could. I heard the dragon roar several times. Every step it took shook the room like it was a hammer striking a nail.

When I made it back as far as I could, I was against the wall. Any other direction that wasn't forward wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, and going forward would mean facing the dragon myself. So I sat down on the floor, closed my eyes, and waited patiently.

In the last moments of my life, I thought I saw my life ride past by me, my past replay in my head. And I was surprised: because I saw nothing.

I found it very queer that I couldn't remember what happened the previous year, or who my parents were, if I had siblings or cousins, where I had lived before or where I was born, also what my name was. My head was blank, excluding my time in Ravnica, of course, and every event after that.

Preparing for unbearable amounts of pain was the next logical thing to do. I calmed myself down, knowing that there is no way out of this. I was thinking that the dragon would either eat or claw me up, or toast me fried with its fiery breath. But even though my eyes was closed, I saw this very, very bright light, as if I was staring at the sun. I tried to open my eyes, but the slightest opening blinded me. Maybe the dragon was going to explode?

At that time, I wished I was right, and now I'm thankful that I wasn't.

Dromokan dragons don't breathe fire. They shoot out lasers of light, strong enough to go through anything, intense enough to burn. Patience, I thought. The dragon moved slowly, and it was annoyed that its sleep was disturbed. Once things got hot enough, I rolled out of the way, and the beam went straight through the stone wall, carving out a hole big enough for even it to got through.

Once the blinding light was gone, I opened my eyes. The dragon slugged its way back into the far corner to go back to sleep, probably thought that it has killed the enemy. Thankfully it was dumb enough to think that.

Apparently no one was near enough to hear the dragon, either that or their too slow in sounding some sort of alert signal. Either way, I had enough time to charge mana and Planeswalk back to the city.

'And that's what happened.' I told the guild guards. 'Fellows, I'm a member of the League. I have the Firemind for the almighty love of-'

The guards pointed their spear at me. 'You may not pass'.

It is a good time to tell you that the Izzet have never had guards by their gate. They are terrified by the spontaneity of the guild's experiments. Spontaneous combustion was a thing, especially if you wore the uniform, which all guards were required to.

'Okay, okay. Have it your way.' I turned around. I breathed deep, turned around, and sent a few bolts of lightning towards the guards. Coincidentally, I also tore open the locked metal gates.

During the day, the Izzet headquarters look like the average building/skyscraper, if it weren't riddled with pipes and tubes on the outside that climb the skies and dig the earth, and not to mention the orbs of mana that are stationed beside the gate that generate large amounts of blue and red mana, channeling them all through out the structure.

During the night, well, it glows magnificently. The fluid that flows through the translucent tubes and pipes glow bright in the absence of daylight, and the natural colors of blue and red mana make it more beautifully so. But this time was different.

From the two great orbs, only the one for red mana was on. The guild halls, which was normally filled with notes and broken vials and busy scientists and magi, were all empty. Like the guild has been wiped clean. I knelt down and put the palm of my hand against the floor. It's a tracking spell that all advanced magi know, where one uses his mana to send a wave across a distance, getting useful information when the wave bounces back. But information was absent in the halls tonight. There were nothing but abandoned shelves, tables, rooms, like it was never used before.

I decided that I'd go to Nivix, the aerie of the Firemind. I cast a tracer, got the same results. I tried connecting to the dracogenius, but he seems to have closed any incoming signals from any chosen Fireminds.

In the guild's pseudo-garden, I lay in the grass, observing the crescent moon float in the dark sky. When I heard something in the distance. I got up quickly, and looked around.

At the top of the aerie was a cloaked figure, too far to make out fine details, but I was sure that it was human. He didn't seem to have been doing anything at first, he seemed standing at the top most tower observing the busy city beyond the guild walls. In the decade I've spent with the League, I've never seen anyone that stood atop the aerie. Because anyone foolish enough to try, would be burned by the Firemind's immense mana, unless he was granted permission.

I couldn't this out on my own. Why Niv-Mizzet talked to me when I was in the Dromokan court, or why the guild halls were devoid of both life and magiscience. Or why there were guards by the gate, or why I couldn't remember anything that happened before I joined the guild, or who the mysterious figure was atop Nivix. But he might know something.

'Hey there!' I shouted at the top of my lungs. 'Are you from the Izzet? Do you know what happened here?' I cried again. But from where I was, I doubt anyone would be able to here what I was saying if they were at such a high point.

The guild HQ was teeming with red mana, for some reason, so when I attempted to cast a flare to catch his attention, a fireball shot out of my hand instead, up to the sky, and it exploded like a firework, It was unintentionally loud (which was already to be expected when you're an Izzet), but it did a good job at catching the figure's attention.

He looked at where I was. And for a brief moment, I saw his eyes. Or rather, her eyes. The wind undid her hood, revealing burning red hair below the light the moon. Her eyes were glowing, one as white as the sun, the other as red as blood. I was shocked. She squatted down, as if preparing to jump, then a great pair of wings sprouted forth from her back, then she flew away almost in the same instant. A Boros angel, I thought.

I ran out of the guild hall, and into the busy streets of Ravnica. I had to find out what happened during the time I was in Tarkir. And if I'm right and this is the result of a crime or some greater force, then there is only two places I can go. The first one is the center of the plane's law and order: the Azorius Senate.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Ghosts of Ravnica

**CHAPTER II:**

 **The Ghosts of Ravnica**

New Prahv is an austere and immaculate building; elegant but without ornaments. White marble, alabaster, and steel are its predominant materials. Wide and curvilinear corridors lead to big halls, each one with a collection of smaller rooms and offices. As halls and rooms have nothing to differentiate them from the other rooms, people who visit New Prahv without escort inevitably get lost. Though not many people like entering the Senate's halls, regardless of whether their entrance has anything do with the law.

On my way there that night, I saw more Boros and Azorius soldiers than usual, patrolling the city, randomly asking and interrogating the citizens. One of them almost got to me if I hadn't hurried inside. One of them had soulless eyes. One of them looked dead. I don't know if I was the only one that noticed.

Anyways, the main lobby was circular in size, which had a pretty huge diameter. It was filled with Azorius guildmagi going here and there, getting scrolls from one shelf to the other, while some of the scribes went up a hundred steps on the ladders in the distance just to get scrolls from a seemingly arbitrary location.

Everything was silent. Kind of. On a usual day, the Senate would not be heard talking with one another, at least not in a public room like the main reception. All I heard there were pages being turned, leather boots walking on the ground, and the occasional movement of wheeled ladders across the floor.

I've never been to the Azorius Senate, to tell you the truth; or at least, that's what I remember. For the past 10 years, guild activities have been heavy and labor-intensive, I barely had anytime to explore the next block. Once, I saw Jace Beleren visit the halls, it was only for a minute, he entered the gate, looked around, then left again. I did not really see it but if you are as proficient with Magic as Jace is, it only takes seconds to send a tracer across the guild hall, which would have taken me a minute or two usually. Jace is a Planeswalker, and one of the very few that can talk to Niv-Mizzet without the Firemind.

I found myself at the center of the business. As far as I could see, I was the only one there that wasn't an Azorius member. Since I've never been there, I didn't know where to start.

I approached the nearest person that didn't seem to be as busy. She had her hair hidden beneath a hood that was wrapped around her forehead by a silver chain. Beneath her white cloak was silver steel armor, the general plating for Azorius soldiers. She approached the exit from the door north, I think she was planning to exit the hall.

'Uh, excuse me-'

'No.'

She ignored me coldly.

I followed her steps briskly. 'If I can just ask where to report missing-'

She stopped for a second. Looked at me like she was inspecting newly delivered weapons, and said 'No, the Senate is not accepting outside concerns at the moment.' She started to the gate. 'Good day.' Even though it was the middle of the night.

'Well, that was helpful.'

I kept asking around the area. Every Senate member closed themselves off. Doing the only logical thing I could think of, I explored the areas that I could. Prahv's internal design was simple. Too simple. Every room had practically the same design, same layout for the furniture, same marble walls, columns, carpets, size of the windows, doors, everything. It was like a house of mirrors. I exited one room, I entered another one just like it. Only things that changed were the number of people inside them and the number of scrolls that filled the shelves.

After about ten minutes of going in and out of different (or so I hope), I found myself back at the main lobby. But once I did, everyone looked at my direction, like I was some sort of a mutation in their perfect system. Strange, as they didn't seem to notice me earlier. That kept on until I was out of the building and was back on the streets.

The sun was now rising up the sky. I could have swore that it was around 1 AM when I entered the Senate. Has so much time passed since then? I didn't feel tired nor sleepy either. Something happened while I was inside New Prahv. Something is definitely out of place.

I went to the docks, get some fresh seawater breeze. Sailors were busy loading and unloading ships with crates of food, wine, weapons, cloth, and other things that got imported and exported from Ravnica to who knows where.

I sat on the edge of a rock cliff that overlooked the ocean. From there I could see up to the horizon, and a good part of the city if I looked the opposite direction. I laid down, looking upon the lightening blue sky. I breathed deeply, then I realized how much has happened today. My guild has suddenly disappeared, the others don't seem to be affected by it, the Azorius and the boros are acting like mindless drones, and my memory of my early life has mysteriously vanished. I couldn't wrap my head around all of that and I drifted away to sleep, slowly and uneasy, but very tired.

I dreamed of the sea. I was standing on the water, somehow. There was only the water and the sky, I couldn't see any signs of land nor life. The sky was cloudy and dark, as if it was going to rain. I tried to walk, but any other spot I land my feet on instantly turns into 'normal' water, so I could only stay in one place.

As the wind grew stronger, so did the moving tides. Soon I found myself inside a storm, the water around me churning, with waves crashing into other waves. I struggled to keep my balance. But I could only keep up. The element was relentless. It kept growing and growing, until a hundred-meter tall wave of water brought itself upon me, and I sank deep and fast into the ocean.

That's when I saw _her._ Or should I say it? She was humanoid and feminine in features, but that's as close as she got to being human. Her skin was blue, and her eyes glowed green against the dark blue depths. Her hair was made out of tentacles, moving fluidly with the tossing waters. She wore a battle armor, mostly for the torso and the legs.

She stared at me intently, as if I was an abnormality. That reminded me of the Azorius soldiers. The thought made me squirm and stressful, and I realized I was running out of air.

'It is fine, my warrior.' She spoke, but she did not open her mouth. Like her thoughts were being spoken into mine.

I was skeptical for a second, but I was desperate. I took a deep breath, and everything calmed down.

'Who- who are you?' I asked, trying to keep myself from returning to the surface or sinking deeper.

'You will know, in time. I can only keep this conversation so long. Travel to the plane of Theros. Seek me in the seas of Meletis. You will find your answers there.' Then she vanished, and in the point where she was, a vacuum appeared, and started sucking the surrounding water violently. Not so long I was also included in the stream, then I awoke.

I sat up and observed the horizon. There was the ocean, calm and peaceful. Ships sailed here and there. The sun was setting now, which means I slept through the whole day. Dreams do take more time than you think they do.

When I tried to stand up, my head hurt. Very much. I kept getting this blurry flashes of memory that I didn't know were real, made-up, or distorted from the past. I saw a pale-white giant with a huge dark cleaver in one flash, a field of blades in another. I staggered away from the docks, and back to the closest town.

The townsfolk in Ravnica are a little different from what you might expect. Most of them are guildless, and don't like to be concerned with the affairs of the guilds (except some encounters with the Azorius and the Orzhov) most especially between 'minor' disputes. I say minor because it is not plane-threateningly devastating like the all-out guild war almost two decades ago, and that these are caused and participated in by more or less three guilds, mostly because one interrupted the other, or a conflict in philosophy lingers around too long. These happen almost once a week, therefore making the commoners gain a special hate towards the guilds and its members, but they cannot really do anything about it, as the Ten are responsible for the fate of Ravnica.

But that doesn't mean they can't show signs of it. As an Izzet member, I have to wear the signet at all times. It can be sown to your clothes, or the uniform, or tattooed on the back of either of the hands. I chose the latter. I joined the Izzet when I was young, and little did I know how much effect the mark would have on my interaction with the town's people.

When the vendors see the mark of a guild, they become instantly disrespectful, often releasing an aura of murderous intent. There are also the carpenters, the sellswords, the rogue soldiers, and the other commoners.

After an hour of walking through the town, I reached the Tavern. It's named The Tavern, for some reason. I went to my room upstairs, grabbed a bag of supplies, then I disappeared from Ravnica. I thought to myself, no, I promised myself (and my potentially dead or alive guild members) that I will find out what happened.


	4. Chapter 3 - The Land of the Gods

**CHAPTER III:**

 **The Land of the Gods**

Here's the thing when Planeswalking. You never know where you end up. Not unless you are a pro and have been doing it for more than half your life, but I've only sparked just about three years ago, about the time I got the Firemind.

I've heard stories about the plane before. People said that these immortal, super-beings resided in Theros (well, more specifically, Nyx), and that they were worshiped as gods or deities.

There were 14 gods initially, until an upstart satyr-reveler claimed godhood. But that wasn't why I traveled there. Something felt like I had to go see that merfolk. No ordinary creature (a merfolk, at that) mage can send dream-messages like that, especially not over the Blind Eternities.

I was somehow brought to the edge of a forest, bordered by a huge expanse of sand, like where the Dromokan fortress was. Strange how some places just are the same geographically, makes me think if all planes were originally the one and the same before.

I went under the shade of the nearest tree, which was an oak (I expected the forest to house the same type of tree like usual, but this forest was diverse, with new kinds of plants growing here and there). I changed my clothes to simple cloth-robe, like a mage-initiate's. It was what I wore while I trained, and so I grew accustomed to it, unless I was patrolling Ravnica or was in a formal guild meeting.

Exploring the forest, I got lost a couple of times and ended back at the desert. The third time I tried, I encountered a strange creature. It was a wolf, but it was anything but ordinary. Aside from the fact that it was thrice my size and its fangs were deadly sharp, the shadows it cast on itself weren't shadows in the traditional sense: they were instead made out of stars, like it was fused with the night sky.

I didn't move, knowing that it might attack if I make any sudden movement. It circled around me, gazing at me with those ferocious eyes. Then it approached, and it leaped off deeper into the forest. It left a trail of mana, faint but still there, so I decided to followed it; because it was the only clue I had of finding out where I am.

I thought, at first, that it'd be going back to its cave or its pack, or something. But after an hour of running, it seemed that that was not the case. Sometimes it takes sharp turns into almost impassable terrain, and I have to retrace the mana source back to it. Sometimes passes through solid trees completely, and most of the time it was unaffected by the rough forest floor and the strange moving roots and can be found here and there.

I ran as fast as I could, but after another half-hour, my endurance can handle no more. I've used up the two bottles of water I had with me, and the wolf had no intention of stopping. Finally, after taking a deep breath, I collapsed. The last thing I saw was a dark figure approaching me.

I found myself in that dream again. I was standing on the sea, but it was calmer this time, less waves, and definitely a clear sky. For the first time, I saw land in that endless ocean. On the horizon, mountains streaked against the rising sun.

It might be that I wasn't paying attention last time, because of the killer waters, but I've now had enough mental functions to notice that the sun was glowing green, not white or yellow, and that the sky was slowly changing from blue to white to red, I assumed that it was changing from one color of mana to another; though what the pattern is, I do not know.

'You return.' A voice spoke behind me.

I looked back, and I saw _her_ again. Now that she wasn't in the water, I could clearly make her out. Her skin was definitely blue, purplish almost in hue. Her eyes were like emeralds, green as they could be. Her short tentacle hair moved along with the wind. Her battle armor was a little damaged, a sword slash was apparent below the breast, and her cape was torn and tattered.

'It is not of my choice, I assure you.' I walked towards her, and I noticed that I was still above the ocean surface, but every step I made turned it into ice.

'You are close, my warrior. But not close enough. Meletis is still a far cry from where you are.' She walked, floated rather, around me, her eyes fixed intently on the horizon.

'Where am I exactly? Theros isn't exactly home to me.'

'I only have so much power left. All I can tell you now is that you are in Setessa, and believe me when I say, if you don't say the right things, you will die.'

'What do you mean?' I turned around, but she disappeared. I looked below, but all I saw was a void-full of water.

I decided that I'd run towards the mountains, but the more I approached it, the more it seemed to move away from me. Not too long and the waters got more violent. The sky turned gray, the sun was hidden in clouds. After that, I was suddenly hit by a sudden wall of water, then the dream shifted.

Suddenly I was standing amid a field of grass. But this was not ordinary grass, for it was made of tiny, moving blades. There was only one place in the known Multiverse where such an occurrence could exist: Phyrexia, the artificial plane.

The sky on Phyrexia is always clouded, and dark, even with 5 suns. From where I was standing, the green sun was eminent. In the distance I saw something very, very unexpected. The place was in ruins, but the huge stone pillar with the sigil in the middle made it clear what it was. It was the ruins of the _Izzet_ guild hall. And if you looked further, the body of a dragon laid on the ground, motionless, but breathing. I refused to accept what it was.

By some force, I was suddenly dragged towards the ruins, I couldn't stop myself, nor could I move in any direction. The blade-grass sliced and cut through my legs, creating a trail of blood as I got closer. You'd think in a dream that you wouldn't feel pain, but what I felt there was real, painfully real. Then I awoke.

'W-What the-' I muttered. I seemed to still be lying down, but I was moving. I was being dragged across the forest floor, my legs and feet taking the damage from the rough tree roots and thorns. I was being tugged from my collar, and when I looked back, I was terrified. The wolf was dragging me. Kind of. Its tail somehow transformed into some sort of mana-claw, which then grasped me by the robe's hood, and started dragging. I must be close to my death, I thought.

No, I refuse to go like this.

I grabbed the nearest branch I could find, then forced myself to a stop. I caught the wolf's attention, and it let go of my robe. Standing up, I decided that I have to find Meletis, and this wolf was going to be of no help. Once I got o my feet, I clapped my hands together, said an incantation of fire, and brought forth a blazing fireball.

I didn't launch it though, initially I planned to just scare the wolf away. But then it roared loudly, and instinctively I prepared to hurl the fireball at it. But before I could, I heard a wheezing sound cut through the air, and an arrow crossed my sight just a few inches away from my head, and it a tree.

'That's as far as you go.' I looked to my right, and from the treetop descended an amazonian-looking warrior, holding a body-sized shield and bow in one hand, an arrow in the other. 'Don't move, don't attack, and maybe, you'll get out of here alive.' She nocked the arrow onto the bow.

'Easy there, easy.' I dispelled the fireball, and moved away from both wolf and archer. 'I am of no harm to anyone.'

'You are a mage. You are a threat to everyone, including yourself.' She drew the string back even farther.

I could have cast a barrier then, to repel the arrow, but there were two problems with that. Make that three. One: casting would always take a little time to channel. Two: the wolf that's infused with the night sky, might be able to penetrate mana barriers. And three: against a wilderness-trained amazonian-warrior, she might be able to shoot the arrow in the blink of an eye. There was only one logical thing I could do.

'Wait! Wait!' I knelt down. 'There are more civilized ways to do this.'

' "Civilized" huh? That's insulting. Good thing you won't have to make any more of those.'

I thought I was gone.

' Ashe! That's enough.' A deeper voice emerged from the forest, laughing like it was no matter.

From behind her descended another forest warrior, this one clad in armor made of tree bark. His build was bulky and huge, like he could take several flesh wounds at once and still be able to swing the great ax he carried at his back. I wondered how such a wall of flesh can stay hidden atop the treetops.

Then it struck me. Their eyes might be attuned to the woodland ambiance but I was sure that they cannot see what cannot be seen. _Invisibility._

While the two argued about what to do when they got back (assuming that they were talking about their main fortress or whatnot), I put both my hands on the ground, and stated focusing. Then the wolf growled, but by then, I was gone.

But that didn't stop it.

It was like it could see me. No normal being would be able to see through invisibility, not even a professional mage (that's why it's considered a cowardly spell, by some). Ashe and the other guy didn't seem to take note, but the wolf clawed at me and tried to bite a couple of times. I just kept stepping back.

I kept running back, and as far as I as concerned, the forest looked the same from all directions. I made random turns throughout the forest, with the cries of the wolf not too far behind me. Finally I saw a tree that had a low enough branch. I grasped it and I climbed to one of it's higher branches.

I took the time to catch my breath. I uncast the spell.

Why didn't they chase after me? If I was such a threat to them, why did they let the wolf attack instead of just shooting me straight? I had too many questions I had in my mind that moment, I couldn't think straight. I had to find out which way Meletis was, but I was in a tough spot.

I looked behind the tree, and I saw an arrow flying towards my direction. If I had been a second slower in ducking, I would have died right then.

'These people are crazy!' I grumbled. Crazy accurate description.

I climbed down the tree and resumed running. At first I didn't know what direction was heading, I still didn't know then, but I was sure of one thing: away from whence the arrow came.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the desert was the correct choice after all. But I couldn't see any sign of the forest ending anywhere. After a while I came upon a thick tree-wall that was wholly impassable. I decided to rest there.

But it happened again. Before I was fully rested, I heard an arrow cut through the air again. This time it came from far above me, like it was launched in a wide arc. I had enough time to get out of its way, but soon after more followed. One at a time they came raining down on where I was. _Precisely_ where I was.

It was like each arrow had a mind of its own. It kept bringing me east of where I originally was, and if I tried to turn the other way more arrows came. I was unsure of the maximum speed the arrows could travel, so I decided to keep moving east.

After a while the arrows stop, this was when I reached a river. Immediately I dug my hands into the water and cupped a handful of water into my mouth. I was thirsty. And tired. Not to mention I've run out of refreshments. But the craziness just can't stop. From my back I heard growling and running, and just when I least expected it, the wolf has caught my scent, and must have ran after me ever since.

But I have an advantage now. Sort of. With distance away from the forest-warriors, I can kill the wolf, probably.

I cast the fireball again, hurled it, then wolf bit it mid-air like it was a toy rather than a weapon. It didn't take too long before it had to whole thing in it's mouth. I guess it's not a normal wolf, then. Though I probably should have taken hint in the night sky infused with it.

Great. It can see through invisibility, and it can eat fire.

Wait a minute. It can eat fire!

I knew immediately what was wrong. I couldn't help but grin. It's not the wolf that's the problem, it's the spell itself.

'Oh! How could I forget!' I mentally slapped myself.

Forests are a great source of green mana, not so much for destructive red spells like fireballs. The fire was weak enough for the mana-enhanced wolf to counter and, well, eat. The thing about being a multi-focused mage (someone that is proficient in the five colors of mana but not as specialized as those who aren't), I can use any spell in any environment, as long as it follows these three conditions:

One: I have enough physical capabilities to (1) say an incantation, (2) have enough reserved (that is inside the body) mana, and (3) be able to 'cast' it.

Two: If there is not enough reserve, the environment must be able to produce the right color of mana.

Three: If there is enough reserve, the spell's channeling must not be interrupted. This channel differs from spell to spell, and how adept the caster is.

And from where I was, I was checked for all three. I sent out a faint tracer wave just large enough for me to get a scope of the mana source in the forest. I was not disappointed. Turns out the forest was abundant with mana, more than you could ever find in a Simic laboratory or a Selesnyan garden. There were traces of unknown mana though, but then I didn't have enough time to think about that.

The spell Naturalize will destroy any non-natural object, such as artifacts and weapons. But given enough mana and it will also destroy enchantments and magical enhancements. I hoped the wolf was any of those.

I pointed the palm of my hand towards the now incoming wolf. I do this to focus my magic into a spot, like you would with the sun and a magnifying glass. The wolf leaped, and before it could dig its claws and jaw into me, roots exploded from its core, ripping its essence apart violently. After a few seconds of struggling, it dropped dead unto the ground.

It surprised me till the end.

When it breathed its final breath, clouds of green smoke started to form. Miniature stars started to show also, like a nebula was rising from the dead wolf's body. It ascended slowly, until it got high enough. After that, hell broke lose.

Apparently the forest-folk doesn't like it when one of their own is killed. After I crossed the river, these dryads and naiads started coming after me. I've only heard about them in stories, I didn't really think they existed. Theros is indeed mysterious.

Not too far ahead, a wild mastodon appears, ready to trample me in it's path. I make a sharp turn into a group of trees that led deeper into the forest. I hoped to hide in the foliage, but dryads came popping out of nowhere, attacking me with the thick branches that are their arms.

Turning invisible would have been nice, but successive casting of the spell over the last two hours and a heavily-focused naturalize drained my mana. I couldn't cast air if I wanted to.

As I ran farther, the trees started to space themselves apart. Then I found out why. I stopped abruptly at the edge of a cliff. I could hear the dryads and the (other?) animals coming. The forest security is way beyond uncontrollable.

The drop was about 100 meters down, and ends with a bed of spiked rocks and fog. Not good. The treeline got thick to either my left and right. So there was really only two choices. Stay and fight, or jump and possibly die.

Sigh. I missed the fun dangers of the Izzet halls, where every step might explode to your face. Where crazy scientists experiment and create. Those were the days. But something, somehow, changed all that. Ravnica's starting to change, the Azorius and the boros and the Izzet might have been the first to change, but I reckoned that there might be something bigger going on. Something must have happened while I was in Tarkir.

I had to figure out what. If it meant saving my guild, ultimately.

I looked again towards the bottom of the cliffs. There is always something, I told myself. There has to be someway to descend, fast enough to escape the dryads, slow enough to not kill me. Fortunately, not too far down, there was a ledge. There was also another thing I found out: it was a dirt cliff I was standing on, not rock. Which meant that if I had enough padding, I could basically push myself against the wall and slow my descent using my body weight. But with the thin robes I was wearing, the hard dirt would still be too rough.

But I thought that some scratches would be way better than dying at the hands of trees. I walked a few paces to where a straight jump would lead to the ledge, then I jumped. I clawed my hands and feet as much as possible onto the wall, suffered a few cuts and wounds, and when I reached the platform it snapped under my weight and I continued to descend lower, nearer the rock bed. Afterwards, just after a sudden bump, I blacked out.


End file.
